About Dr. Withum

Dr. Withum completed his student teaching in Cumberland Valley School District’s Middle School West and Cumberland Valley High School. In 1984 he started his professional career as a long-term substitute in Good Hope Middle School. Within days of finishing his assignment at Good Hope Middle School he continued his career as a teacher in the South Middleton School District. Beyond teaching ninth, eleventh and twelfth grade sciences at Boiling Springs High School, Dr. Withum served as the high school student council advisor, class advisor, a drama coach, a student assistance team member, SADD advisor, cooperating teacher, mentor teacher, and supervised principal interns. Administratively, he served as the science department chair, an assistant principal, and a building principal. In the summer of 1999, the same week that the South Middleton School District broke ground for their new middle school, Dr. Withum was named principal for the project. Over the decade to follow, through its construction, opening and development of nationally recognized programs, Dr. Withum served as principal of Yellow Breeches Middle School. He was appointed as the assistant superintendent of South Middleton School District in 2012, serving as acting superintendent from July to August 2013. In September of 2013, Dr. Withum was appointed Superintendent of the Cumberland Valley School District. Since 2006, Dr. Withum has taught at the graduate level as an adjunct professor for Duquesne, Temple, and Wilkes universities and for his graduate alma mater, Shippensburg University.

Education

Dr. Withum grew up in Milltown, NJ, outside New Brunswick where he attended public school through the eighth grade. He then attended Rutgers Preparatory School for his four years of high school. Established in 1766, Rutgers Preparatory School is among the oldest prep schools in the nation. After graduating from high school, Dr. Withum attended Susquehanna University and then Bloomsburg University where he obtained a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Education and a teaching certificate in Earth and Space Science in 1983. In 1988, he completed a Master of Education in Educational Administration from Shippensburg University, followed by his secondary principal’s certificate and his Superintendent’s Letter of Eligibility. In 2006, Dr. Withum earned his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Duquesne University. His doctoral research, supported in part by a grant from the Council of Educational Facility Planners International Foundation and Charitable Trust, focused on the relationship between educational facilities and the educational vision they are designed to fulfill. His doctoral work was highlighted by School Planning and Management Magazine in 2006 and is still cited in research and scholarly works. Currently, Dr. Withum is pursuing a Master in Business Administration with a concentration in School Leadership through Lebanon Valley College.

Personal

In the summer of 1982, in his first class at Bloomsburg University, Dr. Withum first met his wife of 29 years. A graduate of Carlisle High School, Mrs. Withum is now an elementary special education teacher in Carlisle Area School District. She too started her career in Cumberland Valley in Silver Spring Elementary School and Middle School West as a long-term substitute. Dr. and Mrs. Withum have two sons. The older is a 2013 graduate of Lock Haven University and is an alternative education teacher. Their younger son is a sophomore at West Virginia University. The Withums are big fans of wheaten terriers. Their four-year-old wheaten terrier, Oliver, is always assisting Dr. and Mrs. Withum with yard work and gardening, which are among their favorite pass times.